SEOUL: The South Korean won held its ground on Thursday morning, even as local foreign exchange authorities were spotted intervening to limit gains from exporters' month-end dollar flows and a record-high current account surplus in April.
The local currency was quoted at 1,021.7 against the dollar as of 0210 GMT, compared with Wednesday's onshore close at 1,021.4.
"Suspected intervention was spotted at start of the session, although the scale of dollar-purchases didn't seem that strong," a foreign bank currency dealer said.
The won eased to an intraday low of 1,022.9 in the opening minutes, but gradually gained on demand by exporters.
South Korea's foreign exchange authorities were spotted intervening through dollar purchases earlier this month, taming the pace of the won's appreciation and successfully supporting the 1,020 USD/KRW level.
South Korea's current account surplus in April surged to a record to $9.81 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis from March's revised $6.6 billion surplus as exports rose sharply, adding upward pressure to the already-bouyant won.
"The 1,020 level for USD/KRW pair should hold up. The greenback is gaining traction against a basket of currencies now, and is widely expected to strengthen further, said Hyundai Futures' currency analyst Lee Dae-ho.
He added the won's upward pressures will gradually diminish should the European Central Bank ease policy to shore up growth, while South Korean currency authorities offset exporters' month-end forex flows.
The won has strengthened 4.2 percent against the dollar this quarter, outperforming its regional peers.
Meanwhile, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.1 percent at 2,014.70 points as of 0210 GMT.
The main bourse rose 1 percent in the previous session, triggering some profit-taking by retail and local institutional investors who combined to sell a net 53.7 billion won ($52.58 million).
Foreign investors positioned as net buyers in the morning by scooping up 56.3 billion won worth of KOSPI shares, headed for a 13th straight session of net purchasing.
Foreigners have driven the market 2.6 percent higher in the latest buying spree, bringing in 2.6 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's biggest handset maker and one of the beneficiaries from the foreign influx, rose 1.9 percent to underpin the broader index.
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